The first week of baseball is in the books with many storylines to discuss. The debut of Boston Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka lived up to the hefty expectations in Kansas City, the New York Mets continued their 2006 roll into 2007, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays showed off their young talent and Mother Nature decided to turn down the temperature all over baseball. Dice-K is off and rolling He had a much publicized wooing process with the Boston Red Sox, but when right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka stepped on the mound in Kauffman Stadium against the Kansas City Royals, he was every bit as good as Red Sox Nation could of hoped for. Matsuzaka pitched seven strong innings of six hit ball with his only mistake being a home run to Royals? outfielder David DeJesus in the sixth inning. He also had great control with only one walk and 10 strikes as he threw a total of 108 pitches, 74 for strikes. ?He's got a bunch of plus-pitches," Royals? first baseman Ryan Shealy said in an Associated Press story from April 5. "A lot of guys have a good fastball or have good offspeed stuff, but he seems to have both." He showed great composure on the mound with the media circus surrounding him to settle in and retire 10 straight batters at one point. He also demonstrated good athleticism in his fielding, as well as balance in his wind-up. This balance will allow him to easily repeat his motion over and over again and stray away from prolonged slumps throughout the year. Matsuzaka?s performance helped the Boston Red Sox win the game 4-1 and their season opening series against the Royals. Mets blast out of gates The New York Mets were the best team in the National League last season for much of the year before falling to the St. Louis Cardinals in a seven-game NLCS. This year, the Mets got early revenge over the Cardinals by sweeping them in St. Louis by the tune of 20-2 over three games. The Mets have some pitching holes with the injured Pedro Martinez, but their offense is better than last year?s and left-hander Oliver Perez is showing signs of his earlier promise. In Perez?s only start, he went seven innings, gave up only five hits and one run, while striking out six Braves? in the Mets? 11-1 victory at Turner Field. The win moved the Mets to 4-0 and had outscored their opponents 31-3 in their first four games, all on the road. Track team meets Tampa Bay They aren?t the best team in baseball, but they are the most athletic. I?m of course talking about the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who have finally realized they have an athletic advantage and are starting to take advantage of it. In three games this season against the New York Yankees (2) and the Toronto Blue Jays (1), the Devil Rays have attempted nine steals and have been successful six times. The six steals is tied for the best in baseball with the Minnesota Twins. Five players have steals already with the only one with two being shortstop Ben Zorbrist. The Devil Rays have two players on their team who could of played Division I football in outfielders Carl Crawford (Nebraska) and Elijah Dukes (North Carolina State). Tampa Bay?s stay in first place in the American League East will be short and over soon because of a lack of pitching depth, but if they get a runner on, don?t touch that remote. Mother Nature rules opening week Fresh off visual images of sunshine and sunflower seeds in both Florida and Arizona, Mother Nature decided to change things a little for opening week. Instead of sunny skies and endless baseball, fans across the country were treated to snow storms that caused cancellations in Cleveland for the Indians-Mariners series and frigid temperatures that made you check the calendar to see if it was really April and not November. Here?s to another great week of baseball ahead and a wish that I have to reach for the sun block and not the snow gloves. Douglas Benton can be reached at [email protected]